Moulana ‘Abdul Hayy Lucknawi

He was born in Banda, India, on Tuesday 26 Zul Qada 1264 A.H, author of many famous works and a great scholar of his time. He was a descendant of Sayyidina Abu Ayyub Ansari (R.A).

Maulana Abdul Hayy began memorising the Noble Qur’an at the age of five. He was endowed with an outstanding memory from childhood to the extent that in his own words, he remembers the time when he was beaten at the age of three.

He completed memorising the Quran at the age of ten. During the period of his hifz, he also studied some Persian books under his learned father. When he turned eleven, he began his Islamic studies under his father who was at that time teaching in Jaunpur. He learnt all the books from Mizanus Sarf (Arabic Morphology) till Tafsir Baydawi, qualifying at the age of seventeen. After the demise of his father, he studied some books in mathematics under his fathers tutor, Maulana Muhammad Ni’matullah. (1290 A.H)

Allah Ta’ala endowed Maulana Abdul Hayy from childhood with the love of teaching and writing. Any book that he learnt, he taught it thereafter. As a consequence, he developed uncanny ability in every subject. No textbook on any subject remained difficult for him to the extent that he was able to teach books he had not previously studied by any tutor. He taught for a while in Hyderabad. Subsequently he left for Lucknow where he remained for the rest of his life serving Deen.

His students were completely satisfied with his methodology. Maulana Ni’matullah, his teacher, used to extol his praises generously. Due to intense love for writing, he wrote more than a hundred books on many subjects like Arabic grammar, morphology, logic, Jurisprudence and Hadith etc. He was offered the post of Justice after his father’s demise but refused, considering the dangers of the occupation and being content with the little possessions he had.

Allah Ta’ala also granted him the ability to see true dreams in which he would be given some indications. He saw Sayyidina Abu Bakr, Umar, ibn Abbas and Muawiyah Radiyallahu Anhum Ajmaeen. In his dreams and he also met Imam Malik Rahmatullah Alaihi, Shamasud Deen Sakhawi, Imam Suyuti and other scholars, from whom he benefited as mentioned in a separate book on this on this topic. The Mufti of Makkah, Sheikh Ahmad Ibn Zain Dahlan granted him permission for all Isnad (chain of narration) from Al Hidayah of Marghinanai as well as what he had learnt from all his teachers. Mufti Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Hanbali of Makkah, Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Al- Gharbi and Sheikh Abdul Ghani Dehlwi also granted him permission for various Isnad.

He passed away in Rabi ul Awwal 1304 A.H. at the young age of 39 and was buried in the graveyard of his ancestors.